Food on the Norwich Research Park
Over 300 scientists on the NRP are carrying out research into food with a large concentration at the Institute of Food Research. They are investigating the relationship between the food we eat and our health, ways of making our food safer, more nutritious, of better quality, and are also providing Government, regulators and the food industry with scientific information to aid decision-making. A number of useful Food Information sheets which cover a wide range of food related topics are available.
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Improving the safety of our food
Enhancing human and animal health through the diet
To supplement or fortify?
A healthy digestive system through a healthy diet
Better materials for the food industry
Are we eating what we think we're eating?
Improving the safety of our food
It is impossible to put a precise figure on the number of cases of food poisoning due to harmful bacteria. As an example, 12 % of UK consumers said they had suffered some form of food poisoning during the year 2002. Food researchers on the NRP aim to help drastically reduce that figure; their ultimate goal is to eliminate these disease-causing bacteria from the food chain altogether. But first the scientists need to understand how these harmful bacteria get into food, how they adapt to the environmental conditions, and are then able to infect people who eat the food. So the scientists are focussing closely on several crucial bacteria responsible for food poisoning, including Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Listeria, and the bacterium responsible for botulism, Clostridium botulinum. They are identifying the genes that the bacteria need for survival in the food, and the subsequent infection process, as well as developing new ways of detecting these bacteria. Based on their knowledge of how food poisoning bacteria grow under different conditions, food scientists at IFR have developed computer prediction tests for companies to help them improve the safety of the foods they sell.
Of course, no food is 100% safe, despite the best efforts of everyone associated with food production, processing and preparation. But as consumers, we expect our food to be as safe as possible. Risk analysis and communication is therefore an integral part of the application of the research findings on the NRP. In the case of novel foods, such as those derived from biotechnology, scientists can compare these products with similar products derived from conventional methods. They can then provide independent advice about whether a new food poses any greater or less risk than the conventional version.
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Enhancing human and animal health through the diet
The general links between diet and health are widely recognised; on the NRP, however, this relationship is being examined in considerable detail. As well as providing scientific information to underpin recommendations for the optimum diet for good health, researchers are also investigating ways in which specific components of food help us stay healthy by reducing the risk of certain types of disease.
Plant-based foods in particular contain natural chemicals that protect the body against the action of harmful free radicals, thought to contribute to ageing, cataracts, and even cancer. Identifying and understanding the biological action of these chemicals is a considerable task; some foods contain dozens of potential candidates that could be beneficial to health. Scientists can purify these chemicals from the plant, to work out their mode of action in the body. As well as providing valuable insights into diets in general, this work could potentially lead on to the development of novel products by the food industry, with proven benefits to health. These so-called functional foods could offer consumers new options for improving their health through their diet.
More on food components and health
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To supplement or fortify?
Some consumers view dietary supplements as a way of improving their health, but opinion is often divided as to how effective some of these supplements really are. Scientists at the Norwich Research Park are investigating the potential benefits of supplements in the diet, as compared with eating the foods that naturally contain the essential ingredient, and with foods that have been fortified with a particular nutrient. For instance there is ongoing debate surrounding the addition of folate to bread. Methods of food preparation are being examined to see if they have any influence on the availability of nutrients to the consumer. Research into the genetic makeup of individuals and their ability to metabolise different nutrients may help people select a diet that is best suited for them.
More about folic acid
More on selenium
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A healthy digestive system through a healthy diet
Although a food naturally contains a particular beneficial ingredient, the body may not necessarily be able to use it. This may be for a number of reasons; for example the nutrient may not be released from the food during digestion. So studies are underway in collaboration with the University of Nottingham to study how the digestive system, in particular the stomach, processes a meal. Imaging studies of human volunteers have revealed how the stomach digests food, and provides information as to how long food remains in the stomach. A sophisticated apparatus which mimics the conditions inside the gastro-intestinal tract has been developed at IFR. This “model gut” will not only help scientists investigate the process of food digestion and nutrient absorption but also simulate the release and uptake of drugs from pills that we swallow.
The digestive system provides an important permeable barrier between the body and the “outside world” so it must be very finely tuned to allow some material to be absorbed by the body, while the remainder passes straight through. It was perhaps no surprise when scientists on the NRP discovered the impact of diet on gut health; particularly in the onset and development of colon cancer. Changes to the gut wall that are typical of the early stages of cancer seem to be delayed in the presence of certain types of foods, in particular, brassica vegetables such as sprouts and broccoli.
More on digestion and gut health
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Better materials for the food industry
To provide food producers and processors with better raw materials and advice, scientists need to understand more about the behaviour of whole food and its component ingredients. To appreciate and resolve issues associated with storage and processing, for example, scientists need to know more about the structure of different foods, and how the different ingredients might interact with each other to influence shelf life and food quality.
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Are we eating what we think we're eating?
As well as having a responsibility to consumers to provide quality, healthy, safe food, companies also need to ensure their ingredients are authentic and comply with labelling regulations to list the ingredients in their products. Novel techniques have been developed on the Norwich Research Park to enable scientists to distinguish between meat and cheaper ingredients used to bulk out a product, whether juice drinks contain cheaper, alternative fruits, and even methods for detecting country of origin for products such as cured hams, wine and Balsamic vinegar.
For more information on food provenance and authentication
Last Updated: 09/04/2010 11:26